Stamp canceling and marking machine.



N0- 896,366. 6 PATENTED AUG. 18, 1906.

- 6. J. EVANS, DEGD.

' E. EVANS, ADMINISTRATRIX. STAMP OANUELING. AND MARKING MACHINE.

I T NII DN 1 APPL 0A 10 I L B 0V 7, 907 4SHEETS SHBET I PATENTED A1i6.16,,1906. s J EVANS, DEOD.

0. E. EVANS, ADMINISTRATRIX. STAMP GANUELING AND MARKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOVf'I, 1907.

4 SHE-BTSSHEET 2.

PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

- 8. J. EVANS, DEGD.

(3.11. EVANS, ADMINISTRATRIX. STAMP OANGELING AND MARKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7 1907.

' 4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

mam:

M 05. Q WM Maw 5 ,4

PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. s. J. EVANS, DEGD.

C. E. EVANS, ADMINISTRATRIX.

STAMP UANGELING AND MARKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

sTArss PATENT OFFICE.

IA It. liviiN noAnO VIRGINIA, ADM'INISTRATRIX oFsAMUELJ. EVANS,

, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 'lO CHARLES FRANCIS BYRNE, OF ROANOKE,

SIAM? GANCELING AND MARKING MACHINE.

Patented Au 18, 1908.

Application filed November 7, 1907. Serial No.1401,183.

To all 'ul om it may concerns Be it knownthat S.\.\HIL J. Evans, late deceased, did invent certain new and usei't l improvements in Stamp Cancelingand" Marking Machines, and that Cam E. Evans, of Roanoke Virginia, adininistratrix declares that the following is a specification thereof. I The invention relates to stamp canceling and marking machin s, and it is the object of the invention to .provide a machine of simple construction and capable of rapid operation in the production of the work.

, The invention includes a rotary marking head. normally inactive and controlled-by combined letter-registering stop and lockingkey mechanism to register the letters and determine the times at which the rotary marking head will be set in operation.

The invention consists in the features and combination and arrangement of parts hereiiialter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view of so much of tllflllllPI'OVPd stamp canceling and marking machine. as is necessary to a complete understanding of the invention. "Fig. 2 is a sectional view substantially on the. line 2 -2 of Fig. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the rotary marking head and devices associated therewith. Fig. 4 is a sectional view substantially,on the line 4--l of Fig. l and looking towards the left. Fig. 5 is a view of a marking head having two sets ol marking elements and the letter registering and locking mechanism associated tlle|'e\\-'itl1. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of means for adjustin the ink roller. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a etent. tom plan view of the cam associated With the marking head. Fig. 9 .is a view of a detail.

in these drawings, 1, 2, are a pair of rolls bel ween which the letters pass initially, being guided thereto by any suitable iiieansrsuch as the guide. plates 3, 4. ,The roll 1 which s the separating roll, is revolving in the direction of the arrow and backwardly in relation to ,the course which the letter must takein passing through the machine. The roll 2 rotates in a forward directipii or o )posite to that of the roll 1, and. any suitab e gearing anay be employed for giving these rolls the rotary movement in the desired direction.

Such gearing is illustrated generally in Fig. l

' 1 the shaft 5 of the roll 2 having a gee. r (3 there- 0n and the shaft of the roll .I having a gear 7 F g. 8 is a botintermediate pinions 8. ,the'letters pass between another pair oi'- detllO marking head and platen.

carried by the bracket 20.

thereon, these gears being connected through From the rolls 1, 2;

livery or. timing rolls F), 10, both rotating forwardly in the arrow directions and both of these rolls being positively driven through any suitable means to advance the letters to the letter-registering stop and locking-key- DICQllfl-IllSlll which is located in advance of the rotary canceling and marking head, indicated generally at 11, this rotary canceling and marking head coi'iperating with a platen 12 between which and the marking head the letters pass to be marked and canceled. The letter-registeriug-stop and locking-key mech aiiism ('oliiprise a stop 13 having its end 14;

arranged in the path of the letters as they pass between a pair of guide rolls 15, 16 air-- ranged intermediate the rolls 9 and 10 and The end 14 ol" this letter-stop lever is slightly grooved on its face to receive the leading edge of theenvelop; The stop is pivoted at 17, to a lever '18. which in turn is pivoted at 19 to a bracket 20 suitably'supportcd on the frame 2]. This lever is connected by a link 22 to a presserrod or bolt 23, which slides in a housing 24 This presser bar or' bolt is arrangedto operate a releasing lever 25 by'pressing upon its end said lever being pivoted at .26 to the rotary marking and canceling head, and this releasing lever in turn is adapted to o crate a detent 27 which normally holds t e rotary marking head against movement, for which purpose the said d etent engages a projection or catch 28, fixed rigidly to the marking head. The

detent 27 is carried by a housing 29 pivotally supported at 30 on the bracket 20, the said.

detent being adapted to have slight longitudinal movement in the said housing and being under pressure from the spring 31 arranged in the said housin 29, this spring providing a cushion client when the rotary head is arrested by its catch 28 striking the detent 27.

Normally the detent is held locked in engagement with the catch 28 to thus hold the rotary marking and canceling head against niovei'nent by means of a lock or locking-key Thislocking-key is adapted to slide in the housing 24, bel'ore described, being under tension of a spring 33. it is guided by a stud or screw 34 passing through a slot 35 in'the lock or locking-key 32. This lock 1s pro .the rolls 15 and 16.

vided with a projection or locking point 36, which engages a correspondin projection or point 37 onthe housing 29 o the detent or stop 27. The locking-key is connected with the lever 18, before described, by means of a pin 37 projectin from the said lever into a slot or notch 38 ormed in the said locking With the parts in the osition illustrated in Fig. 1, it will be noticed that the end 14 of the registering stop lies directly in the path of -the oncoming letter as it enters the bite of The shaft of the roller 15 is shown at 1'5 and both of these rollers lie in a higher plane than the registering-sto and locking-key mechanism above describe With the parts in the position illustrated in Fig. 1, the registering stop is in osition to contact with the leadingedge of t ,e envelo and at this time the rotary marking head is held stationary by the detent 27. As soon, however, as the envelop strikes the registering-stop 13, this stop is moved aside by the swinging action of the lever 18, due to the pressure from the letter on the registeringstop and the movement of this lever is imparted through thelink 22 to the presser-bar 23, which thus presses upon and operates the releasing lever'25, carried by the rotary mark ing head, and as the movement of the lever" 18 has retracted the locking-key 32 so as to withdraw the locking point 36 from the looking point 37 the swinging movement of the.

said releasing lever 25 Wlll now be efi'ectiv'e to throw the detent 27 out of engagement with the catch 28, and the rotary marking head may now freely rotate, carrying the canceling ribs 39 and the pliedto the said'ribs and stamp post-marking stamp 40 a ainst the envelop so that theimpression wi 1 be made, these ribs and stamp operating in conjunction with the platen 12, it being understood that ink has been apthrough the means to, be hereinafter descri ed. The re. leasin lever 25 is returned to normal position a ter each operation b a spring 25 I The rotary marking hea is driven through v a friction connection or clutch,'this comprising a'disk orring of leather or like material 41 surrounding a part of the rotary marking head, this disk resting upon a rotary shaft or sleeve42 which is constantly in rotation, be-

ing driven .in'any suitable manner, such for instance as through a coupling 43. r

As soon as a letter passes the registering stopj13,- this stop will be restored to position shown in Fig. 1, so that its end will lie across the path of the next envelop or letter, this action being due to the spring'44'bearing upon :the end of the registering stop and the lever 18; and all-the parts associated there- I with will also be restored to their normal position shown at Fig. 1, by the action of a cam surface 18 on the rotary marking head open ating against presser bar 23'and 1n resuming 46 and em racing the sleeve 47.

ings.

this position the locking key will, by its pro jection 36 working against the projection 37 of the housing 29, move this housing pivotally so that the detent 27 will be thrown towards-the center of rotation of the marking head and thus lie in the path of the catch or projection 28 to contact therewith and arrest the rotary motion of the marking head until such time as the 'next letter is registered by means of the registering sto or key 13, and, as above explained, when t e rotary head is arrested there is a slight cushioning eifect afforded by the spring within thehousing 29,

acting on the detent 27 which is adapted adapted to engage. in rear of the projection or .catch 28 on the rotary marking head. The parts of the letter registering-stop and locking-key mechanism having resumed their normal positions the detent will be held in engagement with the catch on the rotary head by means of the locking-key 32.

The rotary head turns with the stem or post 46, it havinga sleeve extension 47 extending along the-post. For stead ing the said post and the rotary marking ead an arm 48 is rovided extending from the post A spring at 49 is provided to hold the release normal position. i

After being marked and canceled the let ter passes-between rolls-5(I," 51, and thence to the stacker 52-, this stacker being mounted to turn about the point 53 a (1 consisting of a series of radiating arms car'r ying at their outer ends rollers 54. The purpose of these rollers is to properly direct the envelops and prevent them from doublin up or becoming damaged as'they would ot to do if the rollers were not employed. The rollers 1, 2 10 and 16, the platen 12 and roller 51 is rubber covered and the bearing of most of these rollers are yieldingly supported, such erwise be likely lever 25 in I for instance as illustrated in Fig. 2 where'the bearing of the roller 1 is shown as adapted to slide in an opening 55 in the frame, it being pressed by means of a s ring 56 in a housing 57, said spring surroun ing a rod 58 connected with and pressing u on a collar 59 on the said rod. Substantial y. the same construction may be employed with the other bear- The roll 50, however, is supported in a bracket 60 adapted to have sliding movement in a casing 61 it bein pressed by a spring 62 in the casing and said casing being pivotally mounted at 63 to the main frame so that access may be had to the rotary marking head by swinging the casing 61 and with the bracket 60 to one side. When in pro or position the casing together with the brac et 60 may be maintained in proper relation to "withinithe fountain by a 5 1 the re ler t'o-advance the envelopwill perthe roll 51 by a'pin 64 passin through a part of the casing and into the 'rame 2 1. The post marking-stamp 40 is removably held by the rotary marking headfor which purpose said headiis rovided with a recess on its side into which t e flanged base ofithe marking stamp is adapted'to be dropped in place by grav ty. 4

Fo'ryinkin'g' the canceling ribs and post markingstam an inking roller 65 is provided carried by a s aft 66, said roller having ink supplied thereto by a distributing roll 67 -1nounted upon a shaft 68, this shaft being driven in any suitable manner, as by the gearing 69 as shown in Fig.4. Ink is supplied to the, ink distributing roller'67 from a fountain ,68 'by means of anoscillating arm 69. carryin a pad '70 of fibrous material adapted to ta e'up a quantity of ink and apply it to the ink distributing roll. The arm 69 is hung pin 71 passing througha slot 7 2 in the sai arm and it is operated by means of a pin 73 on a face plate or worm wheel 7 4 journaled within the foun "tain, and operated by a worm 75 on a shaft :76, which is driven through bevel earing 77,

i 78, from the shaft 68 of the ink distributing roller. The pin 73 works within a loop or strap 79 of the arm 69 and this gives oscillatory movement to the said arm. The arm '-.however-,is pressed normally upwardly by a spring 79*. Within the loop or strap is arranged a spring 80 to be'borne upon by the ,pin 7 3 at the time that this pin is acting to press the arm towardsthe ink distributing roller, the pin and slot construction 71, 72

, 1 allowing longitudinal movement of the arm to-press the inking pad against the roller and the spring 80 providing a cushion to take up .any excess pressure from the pin 73. The

fountain. F-ro'm the receptacle 83;theink passes 'to a cupshaped receiver 85, from which iti'may be drawn off through a valve 86.

'.-The roller 2 is' connected with its shaft by means of ai ipawl and ratchet mechanism, which awl'and-ratchet,,'while acting to drive mi the-said roller to turn in the same direc- 'tio ahead of-its shaft so-as to prevcnt'damageto theenve'lop's should the rolls 9 and 10 -.0 feed the jenvelo forward faster than rotation ofthe roller '2. 1 i i i It willbe'understood that one important function ofthe i rolls 9 a'ndlO which may be '5 termed timingfor, delivery rol'ls is'toyinsure would otherwise 1 a allowed by the speed of worm 7-5 isconnected with the shaft 76 by operation at will by by an opening 84 at the lower part of the said &

the same degree of impact of lettcrs of all thickness or stiffness against the letter regis tering key or trip 13 so'that said trip will be operated with the same degree of certainty and timeliness when a thin letter comes along as when a thick letter arrives at said trip or key. I

It will benotioedthat the letter registering sto is yieldinglymounted and that'it has yie ding movement laterally in respect to the side of the letter. Nowwhcnit is ove! aside and the letter is passing it said l'egistcr ing stop rests against the side of the letter and should at this time, i. 0L, while the stop is resting against the side of the letter, the cam on the marking head act tomove the'presser 1 bar and lever 18 back to' normal position the said letter registering stop will-simply yield in respect to the said lever 18 and thus no extra pressure will be on the letter and all tendency of tearing said letter will be avoided, which would not be true were not "the letter registering s'top yieldingly arrangerh This will allow the device to receive letters of various lengths.

- Reverting to the action of the rotary marking head it will be understood from the above that said head is brought to rest between the marking actions and is held until released by the next oncoming letter striking the letter registering stop and it therefore becomes important to provide a marking head which will take care of the shortest letters however fast they are fed against the registering stop. The marking head is, for instance, two. inches in diameter and. its periphery is therefore roughly 6 inches and a fraction, and were this given a full revolution for each letter or marking action the timing or delivery rolls 9 and 10 would have to be reduced in speed so that the short letters would arrive at the let ter registering stop at intervals corresponding to the full revolution of the marking head, otherwis'c said letters would buckle up, owing of course to the fact, that, the letter returned and held against movement by the cam" surface on the rotary marking head un- I til said head has made its revolution and has brought the low part of said cam opposite the presscr bar 23. In order therefore to increase the capacity of a machine of this character having an intermittingly operating rotary marking head, on said head are provided' two marking stamps at diametrically opposite points, two sets of canceling ribs, two cam surfaces, two catches and two releasing levers 25, all as shown in Fig. 5, so

that a stamp canceling and post marking oporation can he performed at eachhalf revolution of the marking head.

Referring now to the inking roller 65 has its shaft 66 carried by a bearing bracket 65, which is pivotally connected or hinged at 66 to the inking fountain the inking mechanism,

frame 66 The purpose of this is topermit the inking roll to be adjusted towards the marking head when the fiber of said roll has been condensed or compressed to such an extent as not to .contact properly therewith. The bracket or hearing for the shaft of the inking roll is therefore adj listed by means of a screw passing through a boss 67 on the frame 66 and bearing against a art of the bracket 65. This screw moves t 1e bracket in one direction while a spring 67 moves the bracket in the other direction. Of course when the bracket 65 is adjusted to move the inking roller towards the distributing roll its and the section 67 X '-in Fig.

position relative to the marking head is changed and it becomes necessary to adjust the bracket or frame of the inking mechanism as a whole and this is done by loosening the screws 69 and moving the entire ink fountain with the shaft 68 and ink distrib-- 'uting roller 67 and the inking roller towards the marking head and then the screws are again tightened to hold the parts in adjusted position. To permit the adjustment just described to take place the shaft 68 has a flexible portion therein consisting of the spring 69 between the main shaft section 68 to which latter the power is applied through the train of gearing shown 4. Eachshaft section has a forked portion as at 67, 67 to receive the ends of the spring.

'l\ieans have been provided whereby the platen will accommodate itself automatic' ally to different thicknesses of letters or to letters'which are thicker at one point than at another or which contain substances or articles which make the surface of the letter uneven. 'For this purpose, as shown in. Fig. 4, the platen shaft 88 has its bearings in a bracket 89 which is ivoted at 90 to a plunger 91, movable in a racket 92 which is fixed to the frame of the machine. This plunger is pressed by a spring 93 to foreethe platen to its work and the tension of this spring may be varied by the screw 94 bearing on the spring, and which is held in position by the set nut '95. held in normal position against pivoting by a leaf spring 96 connected therewith and to the main frame at 9.7. This spring while holding the platen and its shaft normally upright will permit the said platen and its bracket to tilt on its pivot pin 90 in case a letter is passing between the platen and the marking head which is of uneven thickness and the result of this is that the letter although having an uneven surface will be so pressed that it will receive practically the r full stamping or canceling mark thereon.

'lki permit this tilting of the platen and its bracket, the shaft 88 is jointed at 98, and has a. sliding connection at 99.

'lhc friction drive of the marking head is plm'idcd with an adjustment whereby it is The bracket 89 of the platen is 1 head,

possible to make this drive act on the instant the marking head is released from its holding means. This adjustment consists 'ofa nut 41 on. the threaded end of the stem of shaft 46 of the marking head drive, said-nut when turned serving to force the marking head downwardly against the friction driving disk.-

This nut may be turned by inserting a suitable pin in one of several openings 42. in.

the nut, and when the parts are adjusted" they may be held to their work by a set nut olear that the friction drive may be so set as I to impart rotary motion to the marking head at the instant the said markinghead is re- I leased from its holding devices. i

What is claimedas the invention is: 1. In combination in a machine of the class described, a rotary marking-head normally inactive, holding means therefor, a

anlsm, t 1e said letter-registering-stop being actuated by contact with the letter and caus ing the operation of the-locking-key to re lease the holding means, substantially as d9:

scribed.

2. In combination in a machine of the class described, a rotary marking-head'nor mally inactive, a detent for holding the same, a locking device for the detent, releasing means for the detent, and a letter-registering-stop for operating the releasing means and the locking means, substantially as'described. I i

3. In combination in a machine .of the class described, a rotary marking head nor-- mally inactive, a detent for holding the said head, a release device carried b thesaid head for rendering. lettepregistering-stop and means operated thereby for operatin the release device,

substantially as described.

4. class described, a normally inactive rotary marking-head, a detent for holding the said a releasing device for the detent to move it in inactive osition, said releasing device being carried y the marking-head, a' letter-registering-stop, detent, a presser bar or plun er the releasing device and a ever connecte with the locking-key, andpresser bar and operated by the movement of the letterregistering-stop, substantially as described.

5. In combmation class described, marking head, means for holding and reletter-'registering-stop and locking-key mech-T' In combination in a machine of thethe detent inactive, a

a locking-key for the in a machine of the a normally inactive rotary" leasing the same and a register sto arranged with its end face across the path of the letter and extending with its main art-alongside and lengthwise of the path of t 1e letter to its piyiotalpoint, said stop being adapted to be 6;- In combination with the rotary marking head, a detent mounted to yield in the direction ofmovement of the marking head in arresting the movement of said marking head to cushion the shock, a letter-registering-stop and means for controlling the said 'detent from the said stop, substantially as described.

7. In combination with a rotary marking head, a detent for arreztingthe same, a lever pivoted 0n the marking head for releasing the detent and a letter-registering-stop supported independent of the marking head and adapted to operate'the said releasing lever; substantially as described.

8. In combination with a markinghead, a detent for arresting its rotary movement, a letter-registering-sto supported independent of the marking head and means on the' :marking head controlled by said stop for-releasing the detent, substantially as described.

9. In combination with a marking head, a letter. registering stop, a connection controlled thereby for releasing the rotary marking head andmeans for returning the con-' nection and letter registering stop to normal position, said stop being pivotally and yieldingly mounted in respect to said connection and eitending from its pivotal point longitudinally ofthe path of the letters to allow the said connection to return to normalpo sition while said stop remains in contact with the side of the passing letter, substantially as described,

10. In combination ,with a marking head, a letter registering stop, a connection controlled thereby for releasing the rbtaryj marking head, rotary cam means for returning the connection and letter registering stop to normal position, said stop being yieldingly mounted in respect to said connection to allow the same to return to normal position while said st'op remains in contact with the side-0f the passing letter, substantially as described.

11. In combination in, a machine of the class described, a letter registering stop,

, means for-feeding the letters thereto, a rotary marking head having a. plurality of stops thereon; holding means therefor, for holding said head normally against movement, said holdingm'eans being released from the stops by the operation of the letter, registering stop and a pluralityof similar markingimeans on said head effecting in one revolution a plurality of marking actions,substantially as described,

12. In a stamp canceling machine, a marking head, a platen and means for supportingsaid platen to permit tilting thereof said stop, substantia ,to assume positions in which its peripheral surface is at an angle to the peripheral surface of the marking head, so that said sion over said uneven surface, substantially as described. 7 l I 13. In combination in a letter marking machine, a marking head, a rotary platen, a

machine, a marking head, a rotary platen, a-

pivot support. for said platen to, allow it to assume angular positions axially in respect to the. marking headfa spring for pressing the" platen towards the marking head and a. second spring forholding the platen in normal position against tilting, substantially as dcscribed. 4 4

15. In combination in a machine of the class described, a letter registering stop, means for feeding the letters thereto, a rotary, marking head having, a plurality of stops thereon, means to engage the said stops to hold the marking head against rotation, a plurality of releasinganeans' on the marking headto operate the said holding -means, and a plurality of similar marking means on the head eil'ecting. in one revolution a plurahtyofsmnlar marking actions.

head, a detent therefor, a housing or pivoted support for said detent on which said detent has yielding movement, a letter registering stop and means for o )erating the detent from ily as described;

18. In combination with the marking head, a pivoted detent, a locking key to move the said detent on its pivot, a sliding plunger, a lever 18 pivoted at a-point intermediate of its length,"a connection between one end of said lever and the plunger, a con- I nection between said lever and the locking key, means operated by the plunger for operating the detent to release -1t from the marking head, substantially-as described.

19. In combination with the marking head, a detent pivoted intermediate of its length, a locking key bearing upon rear armof said detent and a letter registering sto for controlling the locking key, substantial y as deser'ibed.-

20. In combination with a marking head platen accommodates itself to letters of uneven thickness to make a marking nnpres-j' 16. In combination with themarking stop, a detent intermeivoted an engaging the marking .o baking key engaging the rear part of i aging he front part of the detent, and bot controlled froin the letter registering stop, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 1n the presence of two Witnesses.

(J. A. MOHUGH, 'MAvIs RICE. 

